Mind Games
by Betterbuddy
Summary: Vance gives Gibbs an assignment that involves getting some personal information out of Tony. Tony and Gibbs angst. Set in S6 after Cloak. Extremely minor mentioning of details in S4, Agent Afloat & Collateral Damage. My lead in to episode 6X16 Bounce
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is set during Season 6, sometime after the episode Cloak. Although this contains no true spoilers, there are some minor details from Season 4, Agent Afloat and Collateral Damage. _But, honestly, __I got the ideas for this from reading the episode summary for the upcoming episode Bounce and from the casting call information for the new NCIS spinoff. (total speculation here--most likely way off too)_

* * *

S6 Cloak

**Secretary of the Navy to Director Vance:** _When the vacancy was created at the top of your agency, you induced me to give you this post. The deal was quite simple. Get your house in order._

* * *

Gibbs set his coffee down on his desk, as he waited for his team to arrive that morning. Since they did not have a case yet this week, Gibbs wondered if it was a good opportunity to attempt reading his emails again.

"_Wow! Two-hundred, seventy-eight!" _Gibbs cursed to himself. Gibbs gave a sigh of relief, when his cell-phone rang.

"I need to see you." Vance said.

"On my way." Gibbs turned off his monitor and went to the director's office. Gibbs hesitated, when entering the office. There were agent files stacked all over Vance's desk. The memory of how Gibbs' team was split up had suddenly flooded his mind.

Vance sat down as Gibbs made his way over to the covered desk. He gave Gibbs a slightly pained smile as the both of them looked at the huge stacks.

"SecNav wants a new team created. I can't get into details just yet. However, I have been going through all the agents' files to select potential candidates." Vance explained, as he gestured for Gibbs to have a seat.

". . .including your agents." Vance then added as he waited to see how Gibbs would respond to that. Gibbs' face hardened, and he tried to completely shelter his brewing anger, as he let Vance continue.

"But, don't worry, Gibbs. Your team will remain _intact_." Vance added. "Your evaluations are due on each of your team members, though, I might add." Gibbs closed his eyes in relief, but he still tried to remain unaffected by the conversation. Vance started to shift uncomfortably in his chair. Gibbs could sense either anger and irritation radiating off of the director.

"Gibbs." Vance said roughly. Gibbs watched as Vance struggled to present his comments. "When I was appointed as director, SecNav gave me an immediate standing order. That specific order has been to "clean house", to make sure that this agency runs as effectively as possible." Vance continued. Gibbs nodded, but was becoming increasingly confused as to where Vance was going with this.

Vance stood up abruptly and began to yell. "Do you have any idea what these teams and their leaders have in common? ----Rota, Spain's Agent Stile; Pentagon's Agent Jefferson which was formally lead by Paula Cassidy; Cartagena, Columbia's Agent Anderson; and now Agent Callen of this new team that I am creating. . ."

Gibbs watched Vance curiously as he became louder and angrier as he listed off the agents' names. Gibbs mused over Vance's words, and he just could not make a relevant connection to the names. Gibbs finally shook his head in resignation.

"Aside from them being NCIS team leaders, I don't know what they have in common, especially, when you added the late Paula Cassidy to the list." Gibbs answered then stood watching as Vance paced the room. After a long silence, Gibbs finally asked.

"Well, are you planning to tell me what these agents or teams have in common? You're the one that called me in here. You obviously need something from me."

"The fact that you do not recognize a connection. . .shows me that this person never even spoke with you. . ." Vance was so enraged that he could not even relay a complete thought.

"These teams were all offered to someone else first. And, that same person has turned down a leadership opportunity, each and every time it has been offered!" Vance stated angrily, as he began to pace again.

Vance was now receiving the strong, Gibbs' stare. Gibbs was becoming increasingly angry by the minute, as he did not know where this discussion was going and could not figure out what person Vance was referring to.

"SecNav is not pleased!" Vance continued to ramble angrily as he paced. "We have an agent that is identified as having the most potential and that person rejects every offer. And every one of these offers –any other agent would kill for!" Vance finished his rant and turned to face Gibbs. Gibbs stared back angrily, saying nothing in return. He did not like long, drawn out explanations, especially ones that provided little relevant information to him.

"I want you to find out for me if your Agent DiNozzo has any intentions of ever taking one of these offers some day or if he plans to maintain his false comedian persona that he likes to rely on."

Gibbs smirked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're talking about, _**D I N O Z Z O**_." Gibbs replied still trying to process all the details. He shook his head in disbelief and irritation. Vance started to relax himself, after observing Gibbs' angry reaction to his comments.

"Look Gibbs. I guess you weren't aware of any of this." Vance said as he watched Gibbs try to wrap his mind around this. It was very unusual to see Gibbs so surprised and taken so off guard.

"He has never mentioned any of this." Gibbs finally said to Vance in an almost hurt tone. "Never even given a clue. . .Why wouldn't he mention it--brag about it?" Gibbs stopped when he realized that he was actually looking somewhat vulnerable in front of Vance. He stopped and looked back up at Vance.

"I just need you to find out for me what the problem is." Vance said in a much calmer tone than before.

"Did he give reasons to you at all?" Gibbs had completely refocused and asked in his determined investigator tone.

"Jenny Shepard stated the reason in his file for why he didn't take the Rota, Spain team leader position, as "because Gibbs has a mustache." Vance said, as he could not contain a smirk and quiet giggle. Gibbs allowed a brief smile from that, then indicated that he wanted to know more.

"The Cartagena position was offered to him around the time of Shepard's death. It just wasn't an appropriate time. . ." Vance stopped after offering his last statement.

"This last one though is really what angered SecNav. I need to know if he just is not ready or not interested at all. Otherwise, SecNav will stop asking all together. As far as I can tell, he just needs a kick in the butt. Does he just plan on remaining as your number two the rest of his career?" Vance stated as he watched how Gibbs would react.

"I will look into it." Gibbs assured Vance. He stated this in a totally stone-cold manner, not revealing any of the emotions that were consuming him. Gibbs left Vance's office, nearly circling his own path. He found himself walking toward the elevator, as he tried to plan a course of action. Gibbs was not sure how he could provide these answers for Vance.

The elevator doors opened. Gibbs realized that he had set the elevator to arrive at autopsy. Gibbs entered to find Ducky sitting at his desk alone in the autopsy room.

"Gibbs!" Ducky turned and said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I don't have anything to report."


	2. Chapter 2

"Something wrong, Jethro?" Ducky asked in concern. When Gibbs did not respond to the question, Ducky made a second statement. "Are you second guessing your judgment again? Is there an agent you want me to profile again?" Ducky smiled and tried to lighten the mood.

"Yeah maybe." Gibbs answered and then stepped away.

"I need to have my head shrunk." Gibbs said as he paced.

Ducky briefly laughed. "That is not what it is called Gibbs. I believe. . ." Ducky stopped rambling as he continued to notice how troubled Gibbs seemed to be.

"Is Palmer here?" Gibbs asked. "Because this has to remain confidential." Ducky acknowledged Gibbs' last statement.

"All right. What exactly would you like to talk about?" Ducky asked, as he became interested in what might be causing such unusual, out-of character behavior from Gibbs.

"Vance gave me an assignment." Gibbs started.

Ducky looked at Gibbs confused. "There is nothing upsetting about that, Jethro. He does that quite often."

"He wants me to find out why DiNozzo keeps turning down promotions." Gibbs said.

Ducky laughed out loud at how unusual that sounded. "Are you serious?" Gibbs did not answer, but instead continued to pace.

"Our DiNozzo? If he received a promotion of any kind, he would announce it to everyone."

"Yeah, that's what I would think, too." Gibbs stated. "It is what we have come to expect of DiNozzo. But, he didn't. Four different times he has been offered his own team, and he has turned down every one of them. And, he kept it a secret, too." Gibbs quickly announced. "So, anyway, SecNav is getting mad about that."

Ducky was speechless upon hearing that news. He looked down and tried make sense of the idea. He noticed that Gibbs had started to pace again, and he had nothing to reassure him with.

"I think this is my doing." Gibbs finally confessed.

"What? How could you have anything to do with this? I mean, he never told you, so he never wanted you to know. You couldn't have known. What? I don't even know how you could think that this is your fault." Ducky explained.

"After the explosion, I made him team leader." Gibbs started to explain.

"Then, when you decided to come back, he was, basically, demoted." Ducky continued Gibbs' statement. "I don't think Anthony ever perceived it that way. He was grateful that you were back." Gibbs and Ducky stood in silence. Ducky tilted his head, as he processed the concept.

"Well, you did drop a large responsibility in his lap, and then to just take it back like that. . ." Ducky stated, trying to understand Gibbs' point. "Did you tell Anthony that you wanted your job back before you actually took it back?"

"No." Ducky winced at Gibbs' answer. "One of these promotions that he declined was when I was first reinstated as team leader. He told Jen that the reason he wasn't taking it was because I had a mustache." After Gibbs' last comment, Ducky could not resist a little chuckle.

"Well, _that_ sounds like our Anthony." Ducky said with a smile.

"I remember the case too." Gibbs revealed. "I was in the observation booth with Jenny watching him and Ziva in the interrogation room. She made a comment about his leadership abilities, and that I should have a talk with him. I never did. All during that time he was also working that Grenouille assignment as well. Pretty heavy burden."

"Jethro. You do need to have a talk with Anthony." Ducky directed.

Gibbs nodded and gave a very audible sigh. Gibb's cell phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs." Gibbs answered.

"Hey Boss. DiNozzo here. We have a dead Navy Lieutenant that was found in a hotel." DiNozzo explained.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Gibbs hung up and looked at Ducky.

"What?" Ducky asked.

"There are certain things that DiNozzo and I just don't discuss. I don't know if I can do this."

"This is really bothering you isn't it?" Ducky asked. "This is very unlike you. I am really surprised to see you doubt yourself on something like this." Gibbs sighed and headed for the door.

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs added as he left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what have we got?" Gibbs asked as he entered the squad room. He glanced quickly at DiNozzo, who seemed to have his eyes fixed on Gibbs.

"Everything all right?" DiNozzo asked, as he continued to watch Gibbs. Gibbs laughed silently.

"Just waiting for an update, Tony." Gibbs said as he turned to face him.

"I just talked to a hotel manager. Apparently, a lieutenant was found dead at a luxury hotel. Her body was stuffed inside a large suitcase." DiNozzo said, as he continued to watch Gibbs.

"There is more Gibbs. The lieutenant was a witness to a case we investigated two years ago." Ziva started to explain.

"Really? What case was that?" Gibbs asked looking down.

"Well, you. . .you wouldn't remember the details. You were in Mexico at the time." Ziva added. Gibbs looked up at her in surprise.

"All right, grab your gear." Gibbs ordered. Gibbs watched as his team headed for the elevator. As he looked up, he noticed that Vance was hanging over the banister watching him. Vance nodded at him and walked away. Gibbs jumped into the elevator with the rest of his team.

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At the crime scene, Gibbs was interviewing the metro police that first arrived at the scene. Meanwhile, Ziva was interviewing the hotel manager. McGee and Tony were snapping photos and sketching the scene. Tony walked over to raise the crime scene tap, as Ducky and Palmer arrived at the crime scene with a gurney.

"Ah, thank you, Anthony." Ducky said, giving Tony a bright, long smile. Tony finally walked away after feeling uncomfortable from that gesture.

"I think Ducky is mad at me." Tony said to McGee.

"Why? What did you do?" McGee asked in an accusing manner.

"I don't know, but he just thanked me and gave me a really nice, bright, long smile." Tony said suspiciously.

"Oh, yeah. He is seriously pissed at you, DiNozzo." McGee said with a laugh.

"Man, I love these luxury hotels." DiNozzo redirected as he looked up the large marble staircase. "I used to have so much fun at these."

"When have you ever stayed in a hotel like this, Tony?" McGee asked. Tony turned to McGee with an expression that called out "come on—are you kidding?".

"When I was a kid, my dad would take me on his business trips and basically never really came back to the room. I would become so familiar with the staff that they would basically let me do whatever I wanted." Tony explained as he squatted down and continued to snap pictures. "They would let me in all the employee rooms and. . ."

"Tony?" Gibbs interrupted as he listened to Tony's story. "I am putting you in charge of this investigation." Gibbs handed Tony the file from the local police department.

"What?" Tony said nervously as he slowly stood up.

"Here. This is your case." Gibbs said as he watched Tony's nervous reaction.

"But you are here. You are not in Mexico, acting as director, injured, or being held hostage. You are _here_. There is no reason why you can't run this investigation." Tony tried to explain to Gibbs.

"So far, the only suspect that we have is someone that you interviewed before from the old case. The old case --that, you, were in charge of. Now, . . ." Gibbs approached very closely to Tony, treating with an intense stare. "You are running this investigation. Do you need a head slap?"

"Uh, maybe, Boss." Tony answered nervously. Tony braced himself, preparing for the head slap that never came. Instead, Gibbs handed him the file and walked away. Tony looked over at McGee who had been listening to the whole discussion. McGee was surprised by the exchange, but he was even more amazed that Tony almost seemed scared to run the investigation.

Ziva, McGee, and Tony continued to collect their crime scene details. Ducky and Palmer prepped the body for transport. They did this all as Gibbs stood aside in the hotel lobby.

"All right. We are done here." Tony said as he surveyed and looked to Ziva and McGee for their approval. As Tony grabbed the file and suit case to leave, Ziva turned to McGee in confusion.

"What is going on? Where is Gibbs?" Ziva asked in confusion.

"He is in the lobby." McGee answered with a shrug in disbelief of the words that just came out of his mouth.

As the three of them approached the lobby, they watched as Gibbs held the door open for them to walk outside. Gibbs was rewarded with three very unsure "thank you's" and three very confused glances. Gibbs got into the driver's seat, as the three agents seemed to silently be fighting over who would have to sit next to Gibbs, as they loaded their evidence into the trunk.

"Come on. He is obviously furious with me." Tony shot back at them.

"Oh yeah. First Ducky smiles and says thank you to you, and you think he is pissed at you. Now, Gibbs entrusts you to run the investigation, so he must be furious with you, that really makes sense." McGee laughed as he teased Tony about the whole idea.

"Fine. I'll sit next to him. We are still all in the same car!" Ziva shot back at them. The car ride was extremely quiet, as the three of them shot concerned glances at each other over Gibbs' behavior.

Gibbs headed for the elevator in the garage, as the rest of the team grabbed their evidence.

"We are going to have to interview her family again. We will also need to bring in our suspect and talk to his family." Tony said in almost a whisper, as Gibbs was just out of ear range. "Yeah, remember the Bundy's?"

"I believe that their last name is Monroe." Ziva pointed out in confusion.

"I know, but, if you recall, they behave very much like the _Bundy's_." Tony said in slight irritation that she did not catch the joke. Tony started to tense up again, as his attempt at joking about this situation did not seem to be helping. Ziva and McGee were only adding to how uncomfortable he was.

"I'll get these to Abby. And, I will get our arrest warrant." Tony said. "Do you want to interview the families?" Tony finally asked.

"Sure." Ziva and McGee said in relief that they could get away from "whatever" was going on with Gibbs. Tony gave a small smile in realization of how happy they were to leave, and then he headed for the elevator. Gibbs was still standing there.

"Did you. . ." Tony started to ask, as he saw Gibbs lean forward to have his eye registered for the elevator doors to open. Gibbs grabbed the suit case from Tony's hand before he was about to drop the file in his other hand. The two entered the elevator.

"Boss?" Tony asked in surprised of the gesture and in concern of his boss' behavior.

"I have all the confidence in you, Tony. . .in running this investigation." Gibbs said, as the elevator doors opened at Abby's level. Tony grabbed the suit case back from Gibbs and headed for Abby's lab. Gibbs continued up to the squad room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Tony!" Abby yelled as Tony entered her lab. "What do you have for me?"

"Well, I seem to be running two separate investigations right now, Abs." Tony said, which caused a very confused reaction from Abby. "One involves the murder of a Navy Lieutenant, while the other involves the mysterious behavior of one, Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Abby grabbed the suit case from Tony, and then turned to hear more details from Tony.

"Why? What is wrong with Gibbs? Is he being nice to you again? I know that really freaks you out." Abby stated with a smile.

"Well . . ." Tony began to explain what happened at the hotel.


	4. Chapter 4

"Gibbs." Vance said strongly as he entered the squad room.

"Do you have anything new to report to me?" Vance asked with a determined look.

"Not yet. I am having DiNozzo run this investigation. I'll have a talk with him soon. We already have a suspect." Vance nodded in slight irritation but gave a slight smile acknowledging Gibbs' efforts. Gibbs continued to sit at his desk, as his team ran the investigation. McGee and Ziva had just returned from interviewing the families.

"We have a family member that saved a bunch of threatening letters from the suspect. Abby said there was blood that matched the suspect at the crime scene. And, we have a witness that reported suspicious behavior. Did Tony secure the arrest warrant?" McGee said as he sat down at his desk. "Where is Tony?" McGee looked over at Gibbs, who was once again trying to read all of his emails.

"Uh, yeah. He put the warrant on Ziva's desk. Ducky called him down to autopsy." Gibbs finally answered after cursing at his computer.

"Let's go then." Ziva quickly turned and saw the envelope on her desk. McGee stood up and followed her to the elevator. Gibbs watched as the elevator doors closed. He then got up and went down to autopsy. As Gibbs entered, he could hear the long explanation that Ducky was giving Tony on the lieutenant's death.

". . .and this would indicate the time of death." Ducky finished as Gibbs entered. Gibbs smiled inwardly as he saw how quietly Tony was and how intently he was listening.

"Tony?" Gibbs finally said behind him. Tony turned quickly. He was surprised that his "Gibbs is approaching" radar did not go off. Gibbs pointed his head in the direction of the door, so Tony followed him into the elevator. Gibbs allowed for the doors to close than he quickly pulled the emergency stop.

"Boss?" Tony said nervously watching Gibbs. Gibbs watched as Tony's whole body tensed up.

"We need to talk." Gibbs said seriously as he closed the gap between them.

"I knew this was coming at some point." Tony said nervously as he looked down and tried to unsuccessfully regain some space between them.

"Mmm. Why is that?" Gibbs asked surprised by the comment.

"Well, you haven't exactly been yourself today, Boss." Tony said with an uncomfortable laugh. His eyes filled with worry.

"Something was brought to my attention this morning that caused some concern." Gibbs started to explain.

"Oh yeah, really? What does this have to do with me?" Tony asked, somewhat defensively.

"It actually has everything to do with you." Gibbs said, watching as Tony swallowed hard.

"Yeah?" Tony responded, as he was forced to keep eye contact with Gibbs.

"Why don't you want to lead your own team?" Gibbs asked. Tony squinted in confusion to that question. "You demonstrated today and before —that you are very capable."

"You have been offered your own team four times now. And, you are considered to have the most potential to become a new team leader—they have you on top of the list. What is the problem, Tony?" Gibbs asked. Tony gave another uncomfortable laugh to that comment.

"Most potential. Where did you hear that? I don't even believe that myself." Tony said with a laugh. Gibbs just stood there in silence watching Tony, until he stopped joking. When Tony's uncomfortable look returned, Gibbs asked again.

"Can I have an answer?" Gibbs tilted his head to the other side and watched Tony.

"I am not interested." Tony finally said.

"How come?" Gibbs asked.

"I want to stay in the D.C. area." Tony finally answered, feeling confident about his response. "And, I can't leave you guys."

"You have been offered the D.C. area." Gibbs retorted softly, noticing how Tony's body tensed again. Tony just nodded at Gibbs' last statement.

"Can I have a real answer? Why are you turning these promotions down?" Gibbs asked forcefully.

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Boss?" Tony asked, as he tried to redirect Gibbs.

"Nope. Answer my question." Gibbs said not allowing the comment to change his position.

"I am just not interested in playing "Boss"." Tony answered, hoping that Gibbs would accept that answer. Gibbs sighed and tilted his head back in frustration.

"You just want to remain my senior field agent, _forever, _then." Gibbs asked slowly and softly, which made Tony even more uncomfortable.

"Are you planning to order me into taking it?" Tony defiantly did not answer Gibbs' question again. Gibbs finally stepped away from Tony, allowing space between them. He took a deep breath, trying to avoid the heated confrontation that Tony seemed to want.

"You are trying to distract me, DiNozzo. You are trying to annoy me, so I'll restart this elevator." Gibbs kept his voice in the soft tone that seemed to make Tony so uncomfortable.

"I just got back from being an agent afloat. I have no interest in changing jobs again." Tony stated looking down.

"Okay. Then how about the other three offers, huh?" Gibbs asked. ". . .because I had a _mustache_? That was a legitimate reason." Gibbs repeated with an irritated look. Tony looked up at Gibbs with a betrayed expression, wondering if Jenny Shepard had told him after-all.

"Vance told me that this morning. All of it, I didn't know until this morning. Vance wants to know why you keep rejecting these offers." Gibbs explained.

"So you are just going to turn around and tell Vance everything that I say in here?" Tony asked, still feeling betrayed.

"Noooo." Gibbs answered with some traces of worry. "I just want to know, if this is my doing." Gibbs finally offered. Gibbs watched as Tony's whole demeanor changed.

"Oh, Boss. Nothing you have done ever influenced my decision. Well, I guess it has because you taught me everything. However, . . .what do exactly think you did?" Gibbs listened as Tony tried to reassure Gibbs.

"I promoted you to team leader. You did an incredible job, during my leave. Then, I wanted my job back. I returned, and I demoted you." Gibbs said with the same traces of worry.

"You gave me an order, to run the team in your absence. I did the best I could. Then you returned, and you have no idea how grateful I was about that, but then I went back to being your superb senior field agent." Tony gave his version. Gibbs gave a partial laugh.

"Is that the truth?" Gibbs asked. "Is that really how you feel about it?"

"Yep." Tony answered with a confident smile, which made Gibbs feel much better.

Gibbs then tried to redirect the discussion again.

"Are you ever going to be interested in leading your own team?" Gibbs asked.

"I really don't want to play "boss"." Tony answered. Gibbs looked suspiciously at Tony. Tony could sense that his boss was still not satisfied.

"All right. I'll give you something here, if you promise not to tell Vance or anyone else for that matter." Tony said, but Gibbs just continued to give his hard, suspicious stare.

"The reason that I behave the way I do. You know, like a goof, a complete idiot, and lazy." Tony offered, which caused a light laugh from Gibbs. "Every decision I make and how I act is the complete opposite of what my father would do. I am in no way comparing you to my father, Boss, _EVER_."

"My dad is a manipulative, power-hungry, uncaring, ruthless, authoritative bastard, who got sued by every wife he had. I have devoted my life to just not becoming him and not acting as he would--no matter how I am perceived." Tony confessed in a way that was so sincere. Gibbs had never seen this side of Tony before. They shared a moment of silence, after their long discussion. Gibbs nodded at him and offered a smile.

"And, I still don't want to leave you guys."

"You still did good today." Gibbs finally offered.

"Thanks." Tony acknowledged.

"Jethro! I know you are in there." Ducky yelled, which caused both Gibbs and Tony to laugh as they stood in the elevator. "Come on Jethro. I need to use the elevator!" Gibbs released the emergency stop and punched autopsy on the control panel. The elevator doors opened. Ducky stood there pacing with stern look on his face.

"I am having a talk with Director Vance today about getting you a real office, Gibbs." Ducky yelled. Tony stepped back as Ducky joined them in the elevator.

"Top floor then, huh, Duck?" Gibbs said with a laugh.

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	5. Conclusion

"Ahhhh, well yes, I was headed that way, Jethro." Ducky said as he started to settle down. As his frustration dissipated, Ducky looked back and forth from Tony to Gibbs, realizing why Gibbs had stopped the elevator.

"Oh um." Ducky said turning to Tony with a big smile. Tony returned a horrified look back. Gibbs looked over at their exchange and smiled.

"Ducky? Did I do something to you?" Tony asked looking worried. Gibbs laughed and looked up at the ceiling of the elevator, in amusement.

"No, of course not. Why would you think that?" Ducky asked in confusion. "I am smiling at you--not scowling."

"Well, whatever it is. What did I do?" Tony asked.

"To be perfectly honest, it is what you didn't do, but there is nothing for you to concern yourself about, Anthony." Ducky stated and turned back around. Tony looked disapprovingly at Gibbs and back at Ducky.

"Ah huh." Tony replied as he looked at Gibbs. The elevator doors opened on the top floor near the director's office.

"Uh, do I have to come. . .too?" Tony asked in an uneasy tone.

"No." Gibbs shook his head and replied. Tony gave a quick, trusting, smile and headed down to the squad room.

"Everything all right?" Ducky asked as he looked at Gibbs. Gibbs nodded in agreement.

"I think he knows that you told me." Ducky stated with a smile.

"Did you want to talk to Vance first?" Gibbs asked.

"No, I can wait. I know how badly you want this resolved." Ducky said with a concerned look. Gibbs looked down.

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs said as he headed for the director's door. Vance quickly opened the door, as he approached.

"How did you know that I was here?" Gibbs asked Vance. Vance let out a mischievous laugh as he closed the door behind Gibbs.

"Well, I . . .would hate to see you or SecNav give up on him and stop offering him a leadership opportunity." Gibbs tried to present. "But, . . ."

"But, he is not interested—_right now_. But, he is ready." Vance concluded Gibbs' statement. Gibbs gave Vance an unrecognizable look.

"Hey, if he is still singing this tune, after spending twenty minutes alone with you in an elevator, then he must really mean it." Vance said with a smile. "Maybe, if you ever take over as Director, he would be." Gibbs smiled at the thought. He shook his head and headed for the door.

"Thank you, Gibbs. That was what I needed to know." Vance said as he returned to the huge stack of agent files. "Could you send Dr. Mallard in please? From what I understand, he was finally able to make it up here from autopsy." Vance added, as Gibbs was exiting the door. After watching Ducky enter the director's office, Gibbs headed down to the squad room, to find Ziva and McGee typing their reports and Tony playing on his phone.

"Uh, Tony." Ziva tried to warn Tony that Gibbs was approaching before he was able to see that Tony was playing Tetris on his phone, again. Tony quickly put it away and turned to his computer, but Gibbs did see him do all of this. As he passed, Gibbs gave Tony a lighter-than usual, head slap.

Tony mimicked his normal wince and said. "Thank you, Boss." Ziva and McGee exchanged a confused look, raised their eyebrows, and returned to typing their reports.

The End

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